Jonathan Kaufer
A teenage writer for 'Mork & Mindy' who became, at 24, the youngest director ever hired by a major Hollywood studio.
1955–2013 (age 58)·American film director·Birthday: March 14·Baby Boomers
Biography
Jonathan Kaufer's story is a flash of precocious talent in the New Hollywood era. While still in his late teens, he landed a writing job on the smash-hit sitcom 'Mork & Mindy,' a rare feat that signaled his sharp comedic instincts. His script polish work for director Howard Zieff led to a unique opportunity: a development deal to write and direct his own film. The result was 1982's 'Soup for One,' a quirky, New York-set romantic comedy about a young man's desperate search for love. When Warner Bros. greenlit the project, Kaufer, at just 24, entered the record books as the youngest director signed by a major studio. Though his subsequent directorial output was limited, he remained a working writer and occasional actor, his early breakthrough standing as a testament to a moment when youthful voice and studio opportunity briefly aligned.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Jonathan was born in 1955, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jonathan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1955
#1 Movie
Lady and the Tramp
Best Picture
Marty
#1 TV Show
The $64,000 Question
Jonathan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1955Born
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1960Started school
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1968Became a teenager
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Could drive
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1973Could vote
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Turned 21
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1985Turned 30
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 40
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 50
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2013Died at 58
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Key Achievements
- Became the youngest director ever hired by a major Hollywood studio (Warner Bros.) to direct 'Soup for One' at age 24.
- Wrote for the popular television series 'Mork & Mindy' while still a teenager.
- Directed the feature film 'Bad Manners' (later retitled 'Growing Up'), a dark comedy starring David Strathairn and Bonnie Bedelia.
Did You Know?
He made a cameo appearance as a film director in the 1994 comedy 'It's Pat.'
His film 'Soup for One' features an early soundtrack by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of CHIC.
He was a graduate of Beverly Hills High School.
“I wrote the script for 'Soup for One' when I was twenty-two.”
